Running head: GUARD YOUR LIFE CHALLENGE

Guard Your Life Challenge: Do Defensive Driving Courses Reduce Motor

Vehicle Accidents
Taylor Lott
Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research

GUARD YOUR LIFE CHALLENGE

Defensive driving courses are one way to help reduce the number of
motor vehicle accidents, most notably in teenagers.
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine whether the Guard Your Life
program aids individuals, specifically those in the teenage population,
in learning how to reduce their risk of motor vehicle accidents when on
the road. This study will explore a variety of defensive driving courses,
simulations, and interventions designed for novice drivers to acquire a
subset of skills to prepare them for situations on the road. The goal is
to analyze the previous literature, along with statistics, to determine if
defensive driving courses, such as the Guard Your Life program, lessen
the amount of motor vehicle accidents in the teenage population.

GUARD YOUR LIFE CHALLENGE

Introduction
In the year 2010, the number of licensed drivers in the United
States reached 210 million (Statista). In 2014, South Carolina had over
three million licensed drivers (Statista). Of those drivers in South
Carolina, approximately 6.7 percent of them are teens (Joye Law Firm,
2016). This statistic may not seem as such a large number, however,
motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the
United States (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC],
2015). Because of this fact, drivers education courses are pertinent in
teaching novice drivers how to drive and remain safe while doing it.
In South Carolina, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) requires
individuals who are younger than seventeen to complete a drivers
education course before obtaining a drivers license (Department of
Motor Vehicles [DMV], 2016). These courses focus mostly on the
basics of driving, using a combination approach of behind-the-wheel
training and within-the-classroom instruction (DMV, 2016). While basic
driving education courses are important, they do not emphasize
defensive driving maneuvers, nor do they utilize skid pads or
distraction scenarios. Although defensive driving courses are not
required, many researchers are working to develop courses they
believe will reduce the number and risk of car accidents. A specific
course tailored to defensive driving has not been created for
nationwide use as of yet, but there are some courses that are studying
how these courses are performing and whether they will prove
effective. One of these particular courses is the Guard Your Life
Program.
The Guard Your Life Program is a driving experience class where
teenagers are able to learn about driving safety, participate in three
different defensive driving tasks, and challenge themselves to be
responsible when on the road (Guard Your Life Challenge, n.d.). These
three tasks include skid recovery, a distraction course, and emergency
braking (Guard Your Life Challenge, n.d.). The idea of this challenge or
program is to educate novice drivers about the dangers of distraction
while operating a vehicle. The goal of this program, along with many
others, is to improve defensive driving techniques in beginner drivers
to reduce car accidents in this young population. While studies exist to
find the relationship between drivers education courses and accident
reduction, not much research has focused on defensive driving skills to
reduce accidents.
Review of Literature

GUARD YOUR LIFE CHALLENGE

As stated earlier, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of

death in the teenage population of the United States (CDC, 2015). This
is an alarming revelation, especially because many of these accidents
are preventable. Researchers have attempted to develop defensive
driving courses to reduce the large amount of accidents in this
particular population, but research is still being collected. While one
universal process or intervention has not been developed, there have
been various programs established that show some promise. These
interventions are focused closely on defensive driving techniques,
utilizing both simulators and real-world driving courses.
The existing literature on the subject of defensive driving and safety
while operating a motor vehicle is somewhat limited. Most research in
this and similar areas of study focus on either the standard driving
instruction course in relation to accidents or enrolling and completing a
required course after having had a motor vehicle accident. The limited
literature on the subject at hand does exist in some variations and
includes studies that are dated. However, even though these dated
studies involve older vehicles that may have operated in slightly
different ways, the execution of driving techniques by individuals from
the dated studies and more recent studies is analogous.
Throughout the realm of driving safety, there are hosts of varying
programs devoted to studying emergency driving techniques and their
affect on the reduction of motor vehicle accidents. Many utilize
simulators and comparable techniques that allow participants to
experience real-life roadway situations to better understand what
occurs when someone gets behind the wheel. One particular study
tested students on their search, identify, predict, decide, and execute
(SIPDE) skills with the use of the TRS 233: Emergency and Defensive
Driving Techniques Course located at Eastern Kentucky University
(Millard, 2013). These SIPDE skills are salient in driving behavior. They
allow individuals to observe the environment around them while in a
vehicle, make certain assumptions about others on the road, and
respond defensively to these situations.
To evaluate these skills, researchers gave students identical preand post-tests that related back to SIPDE; video scenarios were
included in the tests and answer scores ranged from five to zero
points. This study found that while the majority of SIPDE skills showed
significant improvements, the prediction element showed little
difference (Millard 2013). When analyzing this data, it should be noted
that these research results do not show the impact of time on these
SIPDE skills. As people age, experiences act as a learning blueprint
that improves the behavior of individuals. Thusly, as people mature,
their driving skills do as well. This notion lends to the idea that these
skills have the possibility to improve as people develop. A future study
or addendum to this research would be to follow the participants and
test how these skills have changed over time.

GUARD YOUR LIFE CHALLENGE

Research development with the use of simulators and computer

programs are also being utilized for accident reduction in younger
populations. In one study, researchers sought to understand
differences between inexperienced and experienced drivers in relation
to being trained or not in the Driver Zero Errors Driving (ZED) program
(Fisher, 2002). For this particular study, students viewed 80 risky
scenarios, categorized by four different modes: scan, spot, act, and
drive. The risky scenarios chosen by the researchers were selected
due to their accident frequency for novice drivers (Fisher, 2002).
The goal of this research project was for researchers to evaluate if
the PC driving program helped novice drivers to become more aware
and better respond in risky situations. Researchers found the trend
that young drivers who were trained in the program became more
aware of the surrounding environment. Two scenarios under the class
of hidden risks showed that the training program showed improvement
in the trained students awareness of predicting possible outcomes.
Another result that researchers found was that, regardless of whether
there was an imminent risk, participants in the study showed caution.
One example is a scenario when drivers of the simulator drove slower
through a crosswalk even though no pedestrians were present. This
suggests that that the driver training is helping students to become
more cautious and aware drivers. Conversely, the students who were
untrained or trained but still inexperienced, were unable to notice
hidden risks or would not respond to these risks quickly (Fisher, 2002).
Some things to note about the study from Fisher is that the
inexperienced driving participants had exposure to drivers education
in Massachusetts, making their knowledge about driving specific to
that location. This implies that some differences can exist related to
changes in driving rules in Massachusetts and other areas. Another
important aspect of this study is that those who were tested on the
simulator and with the PC program may react differently in some
situations on the road than when being tested. The scenarios used in
the program were ones in which crash rates were higher for this set
population, however, not all scenarios that exist can be tested in
training (Fisher, 2002). This calls into question whether trained
participants will still be able to react appropriately when faced with
these situations. Similar to the Millard study, the long-term benefits of
the training were not studied. Short-term benefits were looked at for
this study and researchers discovered that this program training
increases the driving awareness for younger drivers for a couple of
weeks after training ceases (Fisher, 2002). This is pertinent because
younger drivers are most likely to sustain an accident when first
starting to drive.
One problem noted in a study done by Vidotto is that inexperienced
drivers have difficulty in hazard perception. This hazard perception is
defined as the ability to identify potentially dangerous traffic

GUARD YOUR LIFE CHALLENGE

situations (Vidotto, 2011). Novice drivers are not able to respond as

swiftly as experienced drivers and react less efficiently. Another skill
noted in the study, which seems to be a common theme among the
previously mentioned studies, is risk perception (Vidotto, 2011). Two
main factors are associated with risk perception, those being (1)
information regarding potential hazards in the traffic environment
and (2) information on the ability of the driver to prevent those
potential hazards from being transformed into actual crashes (Vidotto,
2011). The two types of hazard perception tests are hazard signal
detection and differentiating between hazardous and non-hazardous
scenarios (Vidotto, 2011). Although this study focuses on hazard
perception of motorcycle riders, the content of this study is relevant to
those who operate a vehicle.
For the twelve scenarios tested on the inexperienced drivers, an
increase in the mean proportion of avoided hazards was noticed. The
study also notes that the mean proportion of avoided hazards for the
last scenario was much higher than that of the first scenario (Vidotto,
2011). The results of this study also showed that difficulty level related
to influences on observed performance were scientifically significant.
Overall, this study indicates that the scenario training aided in
improvement of effective hazard avoidance. Limitations in this
particular study include the use of a simulator, implying that some
real-life aspects are missing from this experiment. Also, not all
scenarios experienced in the real world can be programmed onto the
simulator and used in the program (Vidotto, 2011). Regardless, this
study showed marked improvement in hazard perception with the use
of the simulator and training.
When operating a motor vehicle, many distractions can occur. Most
notably, the distractions can be music, navigating devices, billboards,
and cell phones. Distractions such as these can lead to crashes,
resulting in serious injury or death. It is important for the population to
eliminate as many distractions as possible, due to their possible
danger. While distractions like the examples listed are not unique to a
specific subset of the population, in general, distraction seems to be a
problem particularly in the population of inexperienced and beginner
drivers (Pradhan, 2011). Driver distraction is defined by the aspect of
inattention to the road and surrounding environment, mostly because
of secondary tasks pulling attention away from the road (Pradhan,
2011). One statistic found in the study by Pradhan is of the 22% of
the crashes and near crashes found were caused by inattention, some
80.4% were caused by in-vehicle distractions (2011).
For the study on focused attention training, the training program
was called Forward Concentration and Attention Learning (FOCAL).
Because the participants are from New Jersey, some results may not
generalize to the entire population because of driving rules specific to

GUARD YOUR LIFE CHALLENGE

that area. For the study, a baseline pretest was given, as was a
posttest, and the FOCAL training consisted of scenario videos.
Results of the study showed that with the pretest, neither the
experimental group nor placebo group were more likely to look away
from the road before training had begun (Pradhan, 2011). When
reviewing the results for posttest, researchers found that individuals
who participated in the FOCAL training had a reduction of glances
away from the roadway that those who did not participate in the
training program as well as a reduction of long glances (Pradhan,
2011). Overall, this study seems to indicate that the Forward
Concentration and Attention Learning training program improved
focused attention on the roadway for novice drivers. As with the many
other studies mentioned previously, it would be interesting to see if the
results from this study persisted over time. It is a consensus among
researchers that novice drivers have more difficulty on the road and an
increased number of crashes because of inexperience. These training
programs are important because they help to provide more experience
to the new drivers in a safe, controlled environment.
As mentioned in the previous literature, a decrease in the number
of accidents occurs as experience increases. Young drivers have a
higher proportion of crashes that can be attributed to a number of
reasons, but the drivers education courses that are required to obtain
a license are basic and do not always discuss scenarios that most often
lead to accidents. The limited hours spent in a drivers education class
usually consists of driving around familiar areas in a low-risk
environment (Stanley, 2009). This exemplifies the importance of
courses and programs intently focused on defensive driving and
emergency maneuvers.
In one study focused on defensive driving courses, a multistage
training approach was researched in its effectiveness with improving
road awareness (Stanley, 2009). Also highlighted in this study is the
significance in distinguishing between skill training, such as with skid
pads, and risk-awareness training (Stanley, 2009). While it is
important for drivers to be able to master driving skills, skill training
can sometimes lead to overconfidence and ultimately higher crash
rates (Stanley, 2009). It is salient to note skill-based training
concerns understanding vehicle control and maneuvering while risk
awareness is designed to increase knowledge, experience, and
recognition of dangers (Stanley, 2009).
Within Stanleys study, background research was conducted to
ensure the experimental group and control group had similar attributes
related to traffic safety (2009). For the behind-the-wheel instruction,
devices used to teach braking, vehicle control, reference points, skid
control, and off-road recovery was used (Stanley, 2009). Use of
surveys and actual driving instruction were used as measurements of
the progress of the individuals participating in the training course.

GUARD YOUR LIFE CHALLENGE

Results after training showed that the experimental group received

fewer citations than that of the control group (Stanley, 2009). This
suggests that the training has a positive effect in relation to citations
as opposed to lack of training. Although these results are encouraging,
this was a singular significant finding. It is appropriate to highlight this
aspect, but more research should be conducted into what other types
of training can help increase risk-awareness. While there is room for
improvements, this research finding shows that some type of training
can be beneficial to novice drivers in helping to enhance their safety
awareness when on the roads.

References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Teen drivers. Retrieved
from http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/
Department of Motor Vehicles. (2016). Drivers ed in south carolina. Retrieved
from http://www.dmv.org/sc-south-carolina/drivers-ed.php

GUARD YOUR LIFE CHALLENGE

Fisher, D. L., Laurie, N. E., Glaser, R., Connerney, K., Pollatsek, A., Duffy, S. A., &
Brock, J. (2002). Use of a fixed-base driving simulator to evaluate the
effects of experience and PC-based risk awareness training on drivers'
decisions. Human Factors, 44(2), 287-302.
Guard Your Life Challenge. (n.d.) Driving experience. Retrieved from
http://www.guardyourlifechallenge.com/driving-experience.html
Joye Law Firm. (2016). Statistics on teen driving accidents. Retrieved from
http://www.joyelawfirm.com/accidents/car-accident-lawyer/causes-caraccidents/teen-driving/
Millard, C. B. (2013). The effectiveness of an emergency and defensive driving
techniques course component: analyzing student response to searching,
identifying, predicting, deciding, and executing skills, Eastern Kentucky
University, Kentucky.
Pradhan, A.K., Divekar, G., Masserang, K., Romoser, M., Zafian, T., Blomberg,
R.D., Thomas, F.D., Reagan, I., Knodler, M., Pollatsek, A., & Fisher, D.L.
(2011). The effects of focused attention training on the duration of novice
drivers' glances inside the vehicle, Ergonomics, 54:10, 917-931.
Stanley, L., & Mueller, J. (2009). Effectiveness of a multistage driver education
program for novice drivers. Proceedings of the Human Factors and
Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 53(18), 1348-1352.
Statista. (2010). Statistics and facts about car drivers. Retrieved from
http://www.statista.com/topics/1197/car-drivers/
Statista. (2014). Total number of licensed drivers in the U.S. in 2014. Retrieved
from http://www.statista.com/statistics/198029/total-number-of-uslicensed-drivers-by-state/
Vidotto, G., Bastianelli, A., Spoto, A., & Sergeys, F. (2011). Enhancing hazard
avoidance in teen-novice riders. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 43(1),
247-252.